Monuments Related to Esperanto& to Ludwik Zamenhof

Ludwik Zamenhof [1859-1917] was the creator of Esperanto, the most successful constructed language designed for international communication.

Click here for Wikipedia article about Zamenhof-Esperanto objects (ZEO's), i.e. "monument[s and places] linked to L. L. Zamenhof, the artificial language Esperanto he created in 1887, or the community of Esperanto speakers which has been using the language for international communication on an equal basis since its conception until these days.... The 1934 'Encyclopedia of Esperanto' gives a list of approximately 54 towns and cities in which Esperanto or Zamenhof have been honored in this way. In 1997, a German Esperantist, Hugo Röllinger, published a book titled 'Monumente pri Esperanto – ilustrita dokumentaro pri 1044 Zamenhof/Esperanto-objektoj en 54 landoj' ('Monumentally about Esperanto – an illustrated documentary of 1044 Zamenhof-Esperanto objects in 54 countries'), and until his death in 2001 he listed a total of 1260 such objects. It is he who has coined the acronym ZEO. Currently, Robert Kaminski of Poland is the person charged with the registration of ZEO's by the World Esperanto Association."

"The place where I was born and spent my childhood gave direction to all my future struggles. In Bialystok the inhabitants were divided into four distinct elements: Russians, Poles, Germans and Jews; each of these spoke their own language and looked on all the others as enemies. In such a town a sensitive nature feels more acutely than elsewhere the misery caused by language division and sees at every step that the diversity of languages is the first, or at least the most influential, basis for the separation of the human family into groups of enemies. I was brought up as an idealist; I was taught that all people were brothers, while outside in the street at every step I felt that there were no people, only Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews and so on. This was always a great torment to my infant mind, although many people may smile at such an 'anguish for the world' in a child. Since at that time I thought that 'grown-ups' were omnipotent, so I often said to myself that when I grew up I would certainly destroy this evil." -- Famous letter from Zamenof to Nikolai Borovko, circa 1895.

Right click any image to enlarge.

BIRTH

December 15, 1859 - Bialystok (Poland). Birth of Zamenhof. Bialystok was then in the Russian Empire (now part of Poland). He considered his native language to be his father's Russian, but he also spoke his mother's Yiddish natively. As he grew older, he spoke more Polish, and that became the native language of his children. His father was a teacher of German, and he also spoke that language fluently, though not as comfortably as Yiddish. Later he learned French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew & English, and had an interest in Italian, Spanish & Lithuanian.
In addition to the Yiddish-speaking Jewish majority, the population of Bialystok was made up of three other ethnic groups: Poles, Germans & Belarusians. Zamenhof was saddened and frustrated by the many quarrels among these groups. He supposed that the main reason for the hate and prejudice lay in the mutual misunderstanding caused by the lack of one common language. If such a language existed, Zamenhof postulated, it could play the role of a neutral communication tool between people of different ethnic & linguistic backgrounds.
/// Image shows bust of Zamenhof in Bialystok. When was this monument dedicated?

As a student at secondary school in Warsaw, Zamenhof made attempts to create some kind of international language with a grammar that was very rich, but also very complex. When he later studied English, he decided that the international language must have a simpler grammar. Apart from his parents' native languages Russian & Yiddish and his adopted language Polish, his linguistics attempts were also aided by his mastering of German, a good passive understanding of Latin, Hebrew & French, & a basic knowledge of Greek, English & Italian.

By 1878, his project Lingwe uniwersala was almost finished. However, Zamenhof was too young then to publish his work. Soon after graduation from school he began to study medicine, first in Moscow, and later in Warsaw.

December 15, 1878 - L. L. Zamenhof's 19th birthday. At his birthday party he presents friends his Lingwe uniwersala, the first version of his international language. December 15 is now celebrated as Zamenhof Day (Zamenhofa Tago in Esperanto), also called Esperanto Day, the most widely celebrated day in Esperanto culture. By 1887, Zamenhof's language had evolved into what is now recognized as Esperanto when he published the Unua Libro.

1879 - Volapük is created by polyglot German priest, Johann Martin Schleyer [1832-1912]. It had mainly English words, imaginatively respelt, and a Germanic grammar modified to allow unlimited accumulation of inflectional endings.
Unlike all prior planned languages for undoing the disaster at Babel, Volapük came to be spoken. One of its leaders claimed a million speakers, a thousand books & thirty journals. Within ten years, he prophesied, "no country c[ould] afford to be without a teacher of Volapük in every one of its public schools." Ten years later the Volapük movement was dead."

In 1879, Zamenhof writes the first grammar of the Yiddish language, which he published in part years later in the Yiddish magazine Lebn un visnshaft. The complete original Russian text of this manuscript with parallel Esperanto translation was only published in 1982 (translated by Adolf Holzhaus in L. Zamenhof, provo de gramatiko de novjuda lingvo, Helsinki, p. 9-36). In this work, not only does he provide a review of Yiddish grammar, but also proposes its transition to the Latin script and other orthographic innovations. In the same period, Zamenhof wrote some other works in Yiddish, including perhaps the first survey of Yiddish poetics (see p. 50 in the above-cited book).

In 1882, a wave of pogroms in the Russian empire motivated Zamenhof to take part in the early Zionist movement, the Hibbat Zion. He left the movement in 1887.

In 1885, Zamenhof graduated from a university and began his practice as a doctor in Veisiejai (Lithuania) and after 1886 as an ophthalmologist in Plock (Poland) & Vienna (Austria). While healing people there he continued to work on his project of an international language.
For two years he tried to raise funds to publish a booklet describing the language until he received the financial help from his future wife's father.

HOUSE

Date? - Zamenhof House, Zamenhof Street, Kaunas (Lithuania). "In Lithuania, the best-known Zamenhof Street is in Kaunas, where he lived & owned a house for some time."

HOUSE

Date? - Plaque, Cafe Florianihof Inda, Florianigasse 8, in 8th district?, Vienna (Austria). On the house where Zamenhoff lived 1886-1895. Albert Schweitzer lived in the same house (1909), so the plaque says. Information courtesy of Peter van den Dungen. Google translation of the plaque's inscription: "House number 8. Here lived the famous physician, philosopher Red Cross founder Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) and the creator of the artificial language Esperanto, Zamenhof (1859-1917)."

1887 - Verda Stelo / Green Star. The earliest flag, and the one most commonly used today, features a green five-pointed star against a white canton, upon a field of green. It was proposed to Zamenhof by Irishman Richard Geoghegan, author of the first Esperanto textbook for English speakers, in 1887. The flag was approved in 1905 by delegates to the first conference of Esperantists at Boulogne-sur-Mer. A version with an "E" superimposed over the green star is sometimes seen. Other variants include that for Christian Esperantists, with a white Christian cross superimposed upon the green star, and that for Leftists, with the color of the field changed from green to red.

BOOK

July 1887 - First book of Esperanto grammar was published in Warsaw (Poland). /// The book titled Lingvo internacia: Antauparolo kaj plena lernolibro (International language: Foreword and complete textbook) was published in Russian under the pseudonym "Doktoro Esperanto" (Doctor Hopeful), from which the name of the language derives. For Zamenhof this language, far from being merely a communication tool, was a way of promoting the peaceful coexistence of different people & cultures.

In 1901, Zamenhof published a statement in Russian with the title Hillelism, in which he argued that the Zionist project could not solve the problems of the Jewish people.

1903 - Austrian Alfred Hermann Fried [1864-1921], who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911), was a prominent member of the Esperanto-movement. In 1903, he published the book Lehrbuch der internationalen Hilfssprache Esperanto (Textbook of the International Language of Esperanto).

In 1914, Zamenhof politely declined an invitation to join a new organization of Jewish Esperantists, the TEHA. In his letter to the organizers, he said: "I am profoundly convinced that every nationalism offers humanity only the greatest unhappiness... It is true that the nationalism of oppressed peoples – as a natural self-defensive reaction – is much more excusable than the nationalism of peoples who oppress; but, if the nationalism of the strong is ignoble, the nationalism of the weak is imprudent; both give birth to and support each other..."

Among the many works Zamenhof translated into Esperanto is the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament.Besides his linguistic work, Zamenhof published a religious philosophy he called Homaranismo (loosely translated as humanitarianism), based on the principles and teachings of Hillel the Elder [c110 BCE-10 CE].

Zamenhof and his wife Klara raised three children, son Adam [1988-1940] & daughters Sofia & Lidia [1904-1942]. ///"Lidia Zamenhof in particular took a keen interest in Esperanto & as an adult became a teacher of the language, traveling through Europe & to America to teach classes in it. Through her friendship with Martha Root [1872-1939], Lidia accepted Bahá’u’lláh and became a member of the Bahá’í faith. As one of its social principles, the Bahá’í faith teaches that an auxiliary world language should be selected by the representatives of all the world's nations."

CONF

August 1905 - 1st World Congress of Esperanto, Boulogne-sur-Mer (France). 688 participants. "Since then, world congresses have been held in different countries every year, except during the two World Wars. Since the Second World War, they have been attended by an average of over 2,000 & up to 6,000 people." Second image shows the Zamenhof & Michaux families at the congress. See Place L. Zamenhof (February 3, 1931).

1907 - 3rd World Congress of Esperanto, Cambridge (England). 1317 participants. "It is probable that Lord Baden-Powell [1857-1941] was aware of the proceedings. After the first Scout camp which at Brownsea later that year, Baden-Powell was writing his book 'Scouting for Boys' covering the method in which Scouting could be adapted to youth. This work appeared in the form of six small booklets, published every two weeks. The first of the series appeared on January 15, 1908 and the series had so much success that in May of the same year, the set was published in the form of a unified book. In the third book of the series, Baden-Powell advised the Scouts as recourse to use the international language Esperanto as a 'secret language of the patrol.'"

1909 - 5th World Congress of Esperanto, Barcelona (Spain). 1500 participants. On the occasion of the 5th Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, Zamenhof was made a Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by King Alfonso XIII.

August 1910 - 6th World Congress of Esperanto, Washington, DC (USA). 357 participants. "Dr. Ludovic Zamenhof attended & gave a famous oration which began with the tribute to America, 'Lando de libereco, lando de estonteco, mi vin salutas!' ('Land of liberty, land of the future, I salute you!')."

1910 - Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, by four British Members of Parliament (including James O'Grady, Philip Snowden) & Professor Stanley Lane Poole. (The Prize was instead awarded to the International Peace Bureau.)

S Q U A R E1935 - Place Docteur L.L. Zamenhof, Romans-sur-Isere (France). Sign says "Creator of the Esperanto Language, 1859-1917." /// "I was told that this square was inaugurated in 1935 & that the ceremony was attended by Lydia Zamenhof [1904-1942], the daughter of L.L. Zamenhof. During the World War II, she perished in the Nazi concentration camp." Information & photo courtesy of Anatoly Ionesov by email 12April12.

P L A Q U EDate? - "Monument to Lazarus Ludwig Zamenhof. The green star below his portrait is the international symbol of the Esperanto movement and is worn as a lapel pin by speakers. The inscription is in Italian, not Esperanto."

1936-1947 - "From 1936 to 1947, the majority of the organized Esperanto movement left the UEA, headquartered in Switzerland, to establish the rival International Esperanto League with offices in Britain. In 1947 the two groups reunited." Click here for presidents of the World Esperanto Association.

World War II - Esperantists were killed during the Holocaust, with Zamenhof's family in particular singled out for murder. All three of Zamenof's adult children died in the Holocaust. Petr Ginz [1928-1944] wrote an Esperanto-Czech dictionary & then was gassed at Auschwitz at age 16. His moon drawing will be carried aboard Space Shuttle Columbia.
Click here for monuments related to the Holocaust.

About 1946 - Monument voor de Wereldvrede
/ Monument for World Peace, Utrechtseweg 183 (near Ziekenhuis De Lichtenberg / Lichtenberg Hospital, Amersfoort, Province of Utrecht (Netherlands). Moved after 1953 from garden of artist Jacob N. Nieweg [1877-1955], local chairman of "Kerk en Vrede / Church and Peace," who campaigned for "No More War."
Three sided pyramid inscribed in Dutch ("Wereld Vrede door Federale Wereld Regering"), English ("World Peace by Federal World Government") & Esperanto ("Mond Paco per Federacia Mond Registaro"). Monument has a sphere (globe?) on top & a four quadrant circle (earth symbol?) above each inscription. Compare the WFBN, UWF & Japanese logos below. On December 1, 2008, an article on page 3 of the Amersfoortse Courant described the monument's 80th anniversary [sic]. Images & information courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek. Correction received 7Dec2014 from Rudolf van Hengel. Click here for article by Jojanneke Clarijs.

1952 - Esperanto League for North America, Inc. d/b/a Esperanto-USA, or E-USA. "The main organization of speakers & supporters of the international language Esperanto in the USA. Founded in 1952 in Sacramento, California. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Esperanto-USA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization & is the US section of the Universala Esperanto-Asocio."

STREET

Date? - Eliezer Zamenhof Street, Tel Aviv (Israel). "The street sign in Hebrew & Esperanto states that Zamenhof is the creator of the international language Esperanto. In some Israeli cities, street signs identify Esperanto's creator & give his birth & death dates, but refer to him solely by his Jewish name Eliezer (a variant of which, El'azar, is the origin of Lazarus)."

1959 - Plaque Marking Birthplace of Ludwik Zamenhof, Bialystok (Poland).
"Memorial plaque made of white marble was unveiled in 1959 on 100th anniversary of birth of the creator of Esperanto. Sandblasted lettering was originally black in colour. The texts in Polish & Esperanto go as follows: "In this place there was a house / in which / on 15th December 1859 / was born / the creator of international/ Esperanto language / Dr / Ludwik Zamenhof." Olive branches and the symbol of Esperanto, a five-pointed star, are used as a decoration. Wooden family house, next to Zielona street, was dismantled in April 1939, as there was a plan to build an automated telephone exchange here, despite the fact that the building was known worldwide, & there was a small museum. In the 1950's, a brick dwelling house was built here." /// See murals added in 2008.

Date? - There are many geographical & astronomical features named after Esperanto, or after its creator L.L. Zamenhof. These include Esperanto Island in Zed Islands off Livingston Island & the asteroids 1421 Esperanto & 1462 Zamenhof discovered by Finnish astronomer & Esperantist Yrjö Väisälä. The minor planet 1462 Zamenhof was discovered on February 6, 1938, by Yrjö Väisälä.

Dates? - Also, hundreds of city streets, parks & bridges worldwide have been named after Zamenhof. There are others in France, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain (mostly in Catalonia), Italy, Israel & Brazil. There are Zamenhof Hills in Hungary & Brazil & a Zamenhof Island in the Danube River. Zamenhof is honored as a deity by the Japanese religion Oomoto, which encourages the use of Esperanto among its followers. A genus of lichen has been named Zamenhofia rosei in his honour.

ASSN

Date? - World Esperanto Association (UEA), Rotterdam (Netherlands). Headquarters of the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers. Founded in 1908. Osmo Buller became director general in 1996. When was this building occupied?

S C U L P T U R E1965 - Esperanto Sculpture, Hauptbahnhof / Main Train Station, Linz (Austria). Abstract sculpture with Esperanto's green star on its plinth. Inscription: "ESPERANTO: La lingvo internacia de d-ro L.L. ZAMENHOF 1859-1917." /
"ESPERANTO: The international language of Dr L.L. ZAMENHOF 1859-1917." // Left image shows Professor Dr. Ivo Lapenna [1909-1987], president of UEA, inaugurating the sculpture. Apparently it was moved after the station was completely replaced with a new building designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer in 2002-2004." Right image shows the sculpure among trees at far right.

1966 - "Incubus." Black-and-white American horror film filmed entirely in Esperanto. Stars William Shatner. The second feature film primarily using Esperanto ever made. The first, Angoroj / Agonies, appeared in 1964, two years earlier. Esperanto speakers are generally disappointed by the pronunciation of the language by the cast of Incubus.

1987 - Jubilea Simbolo / Jubilee Symbol. In 1987, a second flag design was chosen in a contest organized by the UEA celebrating the first centennial of the language. It featured a white background with two stylised curved "E"s facing each other. Dubbed the "jubilea simbolo" (jubilee symbol), it attracted criticism from some Esperantists, who dubbed it the "melono" (melon) because of the design's elliptical shape. It is still in use, though to a lesser degree than the traditional symbol, known as the "verda stelo" (green star).

POLE

STAR

1993 - Peace Monument, Bona Espero / Good Hope, Alto Paraiso de Goias (Brazil). 155 miles north of Brasilia. Inscribed Ke La Paco Regu La Mondon / May Peace Prevail on Earth (as on all Peace Poles). "Our Peace Monument which I built together with the children
here in [Bona Espero] a large school-farm in Brazil in 1993 on invitation of Esperanto Peacemakers in Hiroshima.
We are volunteers since 1974 in an Educational Esperanto Institution, where we protect & teach victimized children.
We are all volunteers from different countries but without any communication problem, as we all,
inclusive the children, use Esperanto.
My wife Ursula (german) and me (italian) are also Rotarians, & at this moment I am the secretary of the Esperanto Rotarian Fellowship [Rotaria Amikaro De Esperanto (RADE)], present in all yearly R.I. Conventions. Rotarians from all over the world visit us for periods of volunteering in a wounderful wave of solidarity. We admire your very important challenge to do your part for a peaceful world! Congratulations! At your disposal for any future necessary information,
Rotariamente, Giuseppe Grattapaglia" [by email 25Mar12]. Left photo courtesy of Giuseppe Grattapaglia.

CONF

December 1995 - In memory & in honor of Lidia Zamenhof [1904-1942] , a meeting was held in 1995 at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC (USA). The meeting "focused generally on the efforts of Esperantists to help rescue Jews during World War II from fascist & communist persecution." /// Image shows cover of "Lidia: The Life of Lidia Zamenhof, Daughter of Esperanto" by Wendy Heller (December 1, 1985).

December 2001 - Vikipedio en Esperanto / Esperanto Wikipedia, the Esperanto edition of Wikipedia, the 11th edition of Wikipedia (alongside the Basque Wikipedia). With about 162,000 articles, it is the 27th-largest Wikipedia as measured by the number of articles & the largest Wikipedia in a constructed language. It started off with the 139 articles of the Enciklopedio Kalblanda by Stefano Kalb.

STONE

July 27, 2004 - Monument to Esperanto, Chaoyang Park, Beijing (China). "Dedicated in the presence of nearly 100 Esperantists from over 50 countries & regions in the world.
The marble monument, 2.6 meters high & 1.4 meters wide, is inscribed with 'Esperanto Forest' in Esperanto & Chinese on the front side & a brief history of Esperanto's evolution & the opening & closing dates of the ongoing 89th International Esperanto Conference on the back. 'This monument will be considered an eternal souvenir of the current International
Esperanto Conference, marking the vitality of Esperanto as well as Chinese Esperantists' love of the language. Meanwhile, it also shows the great importance stressed by the Chinese government to Esperanto,' said Zhou Mingwei, deputy director of Foreign Languages Publishing & Distribution Administration."

2006 - Esperantopark / Esperanto Park, Vienna (Austria).
"In the course of 2006 by Jakob Fina redesigned all planting greenery of Karlsplatz of Esperantopark & Girardipark were created...
In Esperanto Park is the monument to the inventor of the planned language Esperanto, Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof [1859-1917]. It was donated by the Esperanto Museum & created by Josef Müller-Weidler 1958. On a high pedestal there is a bronze bust of [Ludwig] Zamenhof. The monument formerly stood on the stock exchange. Through the establishment of the monument & the naming of the park Esperantistenbewegung was honored in Vienna, which has held a congress, and in 1970 & 1992 World Congresses in this city in 1910. [Google translation]"

MURALS

May 2008 - Murals Marking Birthplace of Ludwik Zamenhof, Bialystok (Poland). "The author of mural paintings is Andrzej Muszynski, a visual artist from Bialystok. He painted: Ludwik Zamenhof standing on a balcony & looking at the street named after him, Jakub Szapiro & his friend, & a group of children from Bialystok holding balloons coloured like the Olympic Flag, whose colours represent the five inhabited continents of the world. The mural painting was unveiled by Osmo Buller, director general of the World Esperanto Association in Rotterdam (Netherlands)." /// See plaque placed in 1959.

TRAIL

June 2008 - Jewish Heritage Trail, Bialystok (Poland). Opened by volunteers at The University of Bialystok Foundation. Sites on the trail include House of the Zamenhof Family, Monument to Ludwik Zamenhof, & the Bialystok Esperanto Centre (right image).

Email 18Mar12: "The librarian in the Centre Ludoviko Zamenhof in Bialystok, Elzbieta Karczewska (Bialystok Espranto Centre), notes that in the building utilized the Zamenhof family did not reside. The grand opening occurred on the 21st of July 2009 on the occasion of the 94th World (Universal) Esperanto Congress (Conference) in Bialystok. Within in the building is a community center. Signed Ela Karcewska, librarian of the "Esperanto Book Collection within the Zemenhof Centre."

December 15, 2009 - 150th anniversary of Zamenhof's birth is celebrated by several events. celebrate. Authorities in Bialystok open a new Zamenhof Center. A symposium, honoring Zamenhof is held in New York featuring talks by Arika Okrent & Humphrey Tonkin among other professors. The Google search engine bears a special logo (a Doodle) emblazoned with the Esperanto flag, resulting in about 2 million people clicking it to read a Wikipedia article on Zamenhof or Esperanto.

LOGO

December 15, 2009 - Esperanto's green-starred flag flew on the Google search web page, in a commemorative Google Doodle to mark Zamenhof's 150th birthday. December 15 is celebrated annually as Zamenhof Day by users of Esperanto.